


Benny's Suit

by FosterTheBananas



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 19:07:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9456638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FosterTheBananas/pseuds/FosterTheBananas
Summary: Benny is dead and the Courier has started wearing his suit. Everywhere. Sure, it's a little creepy, but no big deal... Right? So why is Veronica so upset?





	

   It was late when the Courier came back. Veronica looked up from her game of Caravan, which Cass had been winning anyway, and smiled as Mouse bounded into the room.

   "We did it," she said as she swept up Veronica into a hug.

   "You did it?"

   Mouse pulled back, hands still grasping Veronica's shoulders, and beamed. Boone stood behind her, his lips in their usual grim line, but he gave Veronica a cursory nod of the head.

   "We did it! He's dead."

   Mouse let her hands slide down to Veronica's, and spun them around the room, laughing. Rex had to dart out of the way when Mouse's celebration brought them too close to where he had been sleeping.

   "He's dead! He'll never… He'll never hurt me again."

   Veronica's hands twitched. She wanted to reach up and cup Mouse's face. Instead she just smiled as Mouse slowly brought their twirling to a stop. Mouse's face lit up, and she laughed again, pulling away from Veronica.

   "And check out the snazzy new suit I got," she said as she gestured down to the checkered black and white outfit she was wearing.

   "It's not snazzy. It's ugly," Cass snorted from her table.

   Veronica paused and looked at Mouse more intently. She hadn't notice it with all of Mouse's celebratory antics, but her usual reinforced leather had been replaced with… Well, Cass was right. It really was an _ugly_ suit.

   "Honestly, Mouse." Cass paused to cut the deck to Boone who had joined her. "You're going to go around wearing a dead man's clothes?"

   "It _is_ a little weird, Mouse. I can't believe you took the time to even take the clothes off his dead body." Veronica's eyes were starting to sting from the busy pattern, so she looked back up to Mouse's face. Tracks of sweat made lines through the grime on her face, and pieces of her short black hair were plastered to her forehead. Benny must have put up quite the fight for-

   "No, he took them off before he died."

   Veronica started, having been distracted from her observations.

   "I'm sorry, what? Why would he do that?"

   "Well, he had to take them off for us to have sex. Not like we could do that with his clothes on."

   "I-what?"

   "It was all part of my plan, see? We had sex, and after when he had fallen asleep all happy-like in my arms, I cut his throat!"

   Her stomach dropped and Veronica felt her face grow warm. If it was possible, that suit had just become uglier.

   "I see. Well, I believe I have some, ah, scribe business to take care of. So."

   Cass waited for Veronica to leave the room before speaking again.

   "I can't believe you let Mouse sleep with that creep, Boone."

   Boone snorted before flipping over a few cards. "I'm not her father. Not like the kid listens to me anyways."

   "Hey, I _am_ right here, you two."

   "You're an idiot, Mouse." Cass studied the cards on the table. "Looks like I win again."

* * *

 

   Mouse smiled at her reflection in the mirror. It was amazing, really, how well the suit fit her. The others had been trying to get her to take it off for a few weeks, but they didn't understand. This suit had haunted her dreams. It had been the last thing she had seen as she fell down that hole.

   And now? What did she have to be afraid of now? Benny was dead. She had the NCR at her back and Mr. House's robots in her pocket. Caesar’s men had been kicking up a fuss, but it’s not like they could get to her in the Strip.

   She had stopped carrying around her gun everywhere she went. It was a bother having to turn it over every time she entered a casino. And besides. If anyone else tried to mess with her? She'd punch them right in their smug face. After all, that's what did Veronica, right? Punch people in their faces? And Mouse had her new suit. She didn't need to be afrai-

   A knock at the door snapped Mouse out of her reverie.

   "Yeah, alright. Come on in."

   “Mouse?”

   “Veronica! Where have you been hiding away lately?”

   It used to be that Veronica would visit Mouse's room daily. But lately Veronica had been ducking away when she saw Mouse, claiming to have work to do in Freedside. It hurt a bit, but Mouse wasn’t one to press. She watched as Veronica slipped into the room quietly, and held something behind her back.

   "I have something for you, Mouse."

   "Oh? A present?" Mouse grinned, but her smile fell when Veronica's only response was to shove something into her hands. She tried to plaster on another one as she ran her fingers over the dirty black leather now in her hands. "What is it?"

   "It's a King's Suit. I know you wanted one, but, well…”

   “I had to use my favor to stop NCR and the Kings from fighting. Veronica, this is… I don't know what to say. Thank you." Mouse looked up at Veronica, smiling again for real this time. "I'll go put it in my closet."

   "Why don't you put it on?"

   "Oh?" Mouse snickered. "You just want me to get undressed, is that it?"

   "I want you to take off that suit. Please."

   "I can't."

   "You can."

   "No. You don't understand, Veronica. You don't know what this suit means to me."

   Veronica's glared at Mouse, then the floor, and before she muttered something under her breath.

   "I'm sorry. What?"

   "You don't understand, Mouse. And if you can't understand, then maybe, maybe I've been misleading myself. I-I need to go."

   Veronica left Mouse's room in a hurry. She wanted to slam the door, but couldn’t quite bring herself to do it. She heard Mouse shout behind her, heard her footsteps come after her, but Veronica kept going. If she stopped moving, the tears would come, and she couldn't let Mouse see her cry. Not over a stupid suit.

   It wasn't until she reached the Strip that Mouse finally caught up, grabbing at her wrist, pulling her close. Veronica took a deep breath, and thumbed at her eyes, willing the tears away.

   "Please. I can't understand unless you explain it to me." Mouse raised a thumb and rubbed away a tear that had slipped loose. "Please explain it to me."

   Veronica's words came out choked but clear enough for Mouse to hear. "When you wear that suit. All I can see is you and him. Do you-do you understand what I'm saying?"

   Mouse furrowed her brow, and continued to rub Veronica's cheek with her thumb.

   "I understand. I-"

   Mouse's eyes widened and her hand flew to her hip, and Veronica watched as she grasped for the gun she no longer carried. Then she felt it, hot and wet. Veronica gasped and lurched forward. She felt the warmth spread across her back. She heard Mouse shouting, could feel Mouse reaching for her, and Veronica could make out were the words "Message from Caesar, Courier." Then the darkness enveloped her.

* * *

 

   The first thing Veronica noticed when she woke up again was that she felt very stiff. She was bandaged heavily, she could tell, and Arcade Gannon sat at her side, fiddling around with a Doctor's Bag.

   "Good, you're awake." He said as he gently administered another stimpak. Well, he tried to do it gently, anyways. "Mouse will want to see you. I'll let her in."

   Mouse came in, followed by Boone, and ED-E. She wasn't wearing the suit, and she wasn't wearing her reinforced leather either. She had on metal armor, spikes protruding from the shoulders, and a raider's helmet on her head. It looked comically thrown together, and so very much like Mouse that Veronica wanted to laugh.

   "I'm glad you're awake,” Mouse said. She was speaking so softly. Why was she speaking so softly? “I wanted to say goodbye before we left for Cottonwood Cove."

   "You're not wearing the suit."

   "Yeah, I know." Mouse reached out and brushed a strand of hair from Veronica's eyes.

   “Why aren’t you wearing the suit?”

   “Well, you’re not one to talk, yeah? You aren’t wearing any clothes.”

   “I’m not wearing any.. Gannon! Why aren’t I wearing any clothes?”

   Mouse laughed lightly as Gannon sputtered.

   “I am a doctor!” he finally choked out. “I had to apply the bandages!”

   But Veronica was focused on Mouse by then, something she had said just sinking in.

   “Cottonwood Cove?”

   “We’ll be alright. I mean, how many soldiers could they have left by now anyway?”

   “They won’t have any left by the time I’m done with them,” Boone spoke up from his spot against the doorway. Mouse shot him a quick grin.

   "You don’t have to go, Mouse. Don’t go."

   "We'll be back. Promise."

* * *

 

   The next few weeks went by slowly for Veronica. She was bedridden for the first few days, but eventually enough complaining and thinly veiled threats convinced Gannon that she was well enough to move around. It wasn’t long until Cass began to pull her aside for games of Caravan, gently tutting that all the pacing Veronica was doing was going to ruin the floors. Even with the distractions, every day that Mouse didn't come back lasted longer and longer.

   And then, one night, as she lay in bed willing sleep to finally come, she heard something bump against her door. Her heart leapt into her throat and Mouse's name left her lips,

   But when she swung her door open, all she saw was ED-E bumbling around, a note taped over his ocular sensor. Veronica grabbed it for him, giving him a small pat, before looking at it.

   "Meet me in my room,” she read aloud.

   Mouse's room was dark when Veronica first entered. She was leaning against a wall, illuminated by the light of a floor lamp. When Veronica saw her she bit back a laugh. Mouse was wearing the King's suit, and had her hair greased back in an imitation of the King gang members.

   "Hey, thanks for the clothes. I think this is going to be my new outfit." Mouse pushed herself off the wall and walked to Veronica.

   "Some people wear different clothes every day, you know."

   "No, I don't think that's a thing." Mouse rubbed away a tear Veronica didn’t realize she had shed. "You always cry when you see me now."

   "I'm happy to see you." Veronica said as rubbed at her eyes, trying to wipe away the tears, but Mouse gently held her face in her hands. She leaned forward and placed a kiss each spot a tear fell.

   "I'm happy to see you too." And then she leaned forward and caught Veronica's lips with hers. "And I won't wear Benny's suit again," she murmured as she pulled back

   "Mouse?"

   "Yeah?"

   "Shut up and kiss me again."

   "Okay.”


End file.
